March 7, 2002

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.- Doubleheaders have not been kind to the Southeast Missouri State softball squad in this early season. The Otahkians dropped their third consecutive doubleheader in a week, falling 6-2 and 8-3 to the Loyola Ramblers on Thursday.

Loyola (4-6) had not hit the ball well in its previous eight games, entering today's twin bill with a .173 team batting average. On Thursday, the Ramblers pounded out 21 hits, after only having only 32 hits in eight prior games this season. Their 14 hits in game two set a Southeast Softball Complex record for most hits by an opponent in a game. Sophomore SS Natalie Martin entered the game with a .208 batting average, five hits, one run and three RBI,s in eight prior games. On the day she finished a combined 3-7, with three runs scored and five RBI's, quadrupling her run output for the year and more than doubling her RBI output.

In game one, Southeast (0-6) struck first getting two runs in the first inning. SS Dawn Piantino reached on an error and advanced to second on the overthrow to start the inning and the Otahkian scoring threat. After 2B Brooke Nett grounded out, back-to-back RBI singles by Courtney Eklund and Reagan Hamlin put the Otahks on the board.

Southeast starter Kristen King would not allow a hit to the top of the fourth when Loyola 3B Sue Stanley led off the inning with a single to center. The hit would be big, as the next batter, Martin, would then belt a two-run homerun to left-centerfield to tie the game at 2-2.

Martin would strike again in the fifth inning when she doubled off the leftfield wall with the bases loaded, scoring 2B Stefanie Schneider, CF Katie Blackmore and Stanley and putting the Ramblers up 5-2.

Loyola added a single run in the top of the seventh to push the lead to 6-2. Southeast could not muster a comeback in the bottom of the inning and dropped game one by that margin.

King (0-2) took the loss. She pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowed four runs, all earned and struck out one. Van Fleet relieved her in the fifth and went 2 2/3 innings allowing three hits and striking out one. Loyola's Sarah Smith (2-3) was the winning pitcher going all seven innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out eight Otahkian batters.

Loyola would pull ahead early in game two, scoring a lone run in the bottom of the second inning. Martin led off the inning with a towering double to right-centerfield and scored when RF Andrea Wise singled her home three batters later.

Southeast would answer in the third when 2B Emmy Kisaka blasted a two-out, bases loaded triple to left-centerfield that scored Eklund, Hamlin and RF Katie Cerneka to put Southeast on top 3-1. The triple was the first in Kisaka's four-year career at Southeast.

The Ramblers wasted no time getting right back into the game, taking advantage of Southeast's propensity to give up large innings, by scoring five huge runs in the fourth to gain a 6-3 advantage over Southeast. 2B Ashley Gibbons singled home LF Erin Cunningham and then C Susan Scott doubled home two more Loyola players and scored on a sacrifice fly by Scanlin. Wise, who reached when she was hit by a pitch, scored on a pass ball to end the inning.

Loyola added one run each in both the fifth and sixth innings to increase their lead to 8-3.

Freshman pitcher Kelly Birk (0-3) took the loss. She went four innings, allowed six runs, three of which were earned, and walked two. If relief of Birk, King went three innings, allowing two runs, one unearned.

Carole Gorecki (1-2) got her first pitching victory of the season by going five innings and allowing six hits for Loyola.

"I told our team that when we score three runs, we have to make that stand up," Southeast coach Lana Richmond said. "When we broke out early I was very pleased because I thought we were hitting the ball well and defensively playing well. We just need to find a way to make it work and be consistent game-in and game-out. We will find a way."

Southeast has the weekend off before hosting Indiana State for a doubleheader on Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The game was not on the original schedule but added after the Southeast Softball Classic was cancelled.

Game Notes: Emmy Kisaka is now 2-2 with the bases loaded this season ... Katie Cerneka was 4-6 on the day and increased her batting average to .500, which now leads the team ... the 0-6 start is the worst start in Coach Lana Richmond's 20-year career at Southeast, Southeast had previously started 0-5 in 1985 and 2001 and 0-5-1 in 1997.